"Class Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - In Progress 7

This colored pencil drawing uses flower symbolism to represent the entire spectrum of social class from poverty to wealth and everything in between.

To read about capitalism and the growing disparity between the lower and upper classes, visit this blog post.

To read about the symbolism of each flower used in this bouquet, visit this blog post.

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It's time to finish up this colored pencil drawing! Today's blog post will focus on the step-by-step process of completing the last six plants.

For these white angrec flowers, I used seven colored pencils - black, blue, two shades of green, yellow-green, cream, and white.

Though not a flower per se, lettuce is considered part of the "language of flowers" and has symbolism attributed to it ("never give up"). For this small bunch of lettuce, I used the colors black, blue, three shades of green, yellow-green, and white.

For the thyme flowers, I used red-violet, light purple, blue, green, light green, and white colored pencils.

These orange trumpet flowers were colored in with white, peach, magenta, red, and orange - with yellow-green used for the viney leaves and stems.

These edelweiss were finished with white, yellow-green, light green, medium green, dark green, medium blue, and black pencils.

Only one flower left! For these bright poppies, I used two shades of green, white, cream, three shades of red, and black.

I also added some color and dimension to the vase, to give it the appearance of glass. Check back in a couple days to see the final blog post - pictures of the entire finished "Class Bouquet" drawing!

"Class Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - In Progress 3

This colored pencil drawing uses flower symbolism to represent the entire spectrum of social class from poverty to wealth and everything in between.

To read about capitalism and the growing disparity between the lower and upper classes, visit this blog post.

To read about the symbolism of each flower used in this bouquet, visit this blog post.

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Earlier this week, I posted "in progress" photos of the first twelve flowers being lightly sketched onto black paper. Today, I'll be finishing up the sketch with the last twelve flowers. Once the whole bouquet is sketched in, I'll be able to move on to adding in more layers of color, dimension, and detail, and putting the other final touches on the drawing.

Here is the sketch of the purple lupine stalks:

Next to that, I added in a few yellow sunflowers:

Off to the left side, next to the hibiscus I'd already drawn, I added in some bells of Ireland.

Filling out the top of the bouquet is this red/pink hollyhock plant:

At this point, I went back to the bottom of the drawing and starting sketching up from where the vase would go in. Here is the green lettuce, which will be just peeking out over the lip of the vase:

On the right side of the vase is a group of red poppies:

Next I added in some purple thyme:

And some orange trumpet flowers:

A stretch of white evergreen clematis flowers was sketched in next:

Followed by a symmetrical stripe of pink orchids on the right side of the bouquet:

There are only two plants left to sketch in. These edelweiss flowers on the right side:

And white angrec on the left side:

Here is the drawing so far, with the first step sketch complete (other than the vase, which is still only a graphite outline):

The next step is start going through and adding more color, building up layers of colored pencil pigment until I get the saturated, bright colors I want.

"Class Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - In Progress 1

I have two 19x25 colored pencil drawings left in my "Stronger Together" series - Class and Ability.

For this Class bouquet, I wanted to make sure all classes were equally represented, from poverty/lower classes to middle class to upper class/wealth. As usual, I selected two dozen flowers to symbolize these different levels of class.

Here were my flower choices, and what they mean:

• Dandelion - overcoming hardship, resilience, healing from emotional/physical pain, emotional/spiritual intelligence, survival, long-lasting happiness and youthful joy, seeing wishes fulfilled

• Lettuce - never give up

• Thyme - courage, strength, thriftiness, activity, bravery, overcoming shyness

• Evergreen Clematis - poverty

• Cactus - endurance

• Kingcup - desire for riches

• Edelweiss - courage, devotion, adventure, sacrifice, difficulty

• Marigold - pain, grief, cruelty, jealousy, beauty and warmth of the rising sun, creativity, drive to succeed

• Tansy - hostile thoughts, health, longevity

• Yellow Carnation - disdain, rejection, disappointment

• Blackthorn - difficulty

• French Honeysuckle - rustic beauty

• Hibiscus - delicate beauty, fleeting fame, glory, femininity

• Hollyhock - ambition, abundance, fertility

• Sunflower - adoration, devotion, haughtiness, power, loyalty, strong bonds between friends, seeking positivity and strength, good luck, nourishing self and others

• Peony - bashfulness, shame, good marriage, good life, compassion, bringing honor to your family, wealth and riches, romantic love, beauty

• Lupine - happiness, inner strength to recover from trauma, new opportunities, positivity

• Myrtle - marriage, true love, good luck in marriage, chastity, marital fidelity, prosperity

• Bells of Ireland - luck

• Orchid - industry, enthusiasm, boldness, pride, luxury, wealth

• Angrec - royalty

• Coronella Dahlia - success, wealth, crown of riches

• Poppy - extravagance, slumber

• Trumpet Flower - fame

I planned on a color scheme of yellow, pink, white, orange, purple, and green, setting up the composition of the flowers within the bouquet so that the colors would be well mixed together.

I made a sketch of my plan on newsprint first.

Once my planning was complete, I was ready to start sketching the bouquet onto black paper. I'll have another post up in a couple days that shows the beginning stages of working on black.

"28 Years" - Year #6

For general information about this 22"x30" colored pencil drawing, see this blog post.
For more information about the flower symbolism I used (Years 1-14) and life events that led me to select those particular flowers, see this blog post.

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My 6th "mini arrangement" is comprised of edelweiss and freesia flowers.

• Edelweiss: symbol of courage, devotion, adventure, sacrifice, difficulty, and pride in the Alps region
• Freesia: symbol of thoughtfulness, innocence, trust, friendship, and sweetness

First I sketched the plants on black paper.

Here are the botanical drawings I looked at for reference while I drew (I do not own either of these pictures; I found them on Google):

Once I had the outlines down, I started filling them in lightly with color. I drew in the greenery for both plants, and then started in on the white edelweiss flowers and yellow and pink freesia.

Once the light sketch was complete, I started applying more pressure with the pencils, to get more pigment down. I lightened up the edelweiss more, and then moved on to lightening up the freesia.

Another "year" complete. There is one more left in this top row, and then three more rows (of 7 each) left to go. Here is the entire 22"x30" drawing so far: